Radiotherapy and oncology : journal of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Delayed rectal and urinary symptomatology in patients treated for prostate cancer by radiotherapy with or without short term neo-adjuvant androgen deprivation.
To identify contributing factors to delayed rectal and urinary symptoms in a randomised trial comparing different durations of maximal androgen deprivation (MAD), given prior to radiotherapy, for locally advanced prostate cancer. ⋯ Prevalence data provide more clinically meaningful estimates of risk of delayed effects in normal tissues where assessment relies substantially on reported symptom levels. In these tissues consideration of the impact of baseline symptom levels and pathologies, and greatest acute symptom levels in analyses of delayed effects appears mandatory. Obstructive lower urinary symptoms improve over several years in the majority of patients treated for locally advanced prostate cancer by radiotherapy. Future research could address whether rectal toxicity is affected by initial haemoglobin levels and declines in it due to MAD.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Observer variation in target volume delineation of lung cancer related to radiation oncologist-computer interaction: a 'Big Brother' evaluation.
To evaluate the process of target volume delineation in lung cancer for optimization of imaging, delineation protocol and delineation software. ⋯ With the 'Big Brother' tool a method was developed to trace the delineation process. The differences between observers concerning the delineation style were large. This study led to recommendations on how to improve delineation accuracy by adapting the delineation protocol (guidelines for L/W use) and delineation software (double window with lung and mediastinum L/W settings at the same time, enforced use of coronal and sagittal views) and including FDG-PET information (lymph nodes and atelectasis).